I invented a ladder leveler that provides adjustable extensions to ladder legs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,656. That leveler is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The leveler includes an outer housing 41 secured with fastening bolts 57 to an outer ladder rail 29 which holds ladder rungs 23. It includes a leg extension 71 that is movable within a channel 43 in the outer housing 41 from a retracted position to an extended position. It includes a positive locking engagement system including a pawl 73 mounted on a pivot pin 79 and biased into engagement by a pawl spring 81. The pawl engages ratchet teeth 49 on a toothed ratchet bar 47 held in place by fasteners 51 in a recess 45. The greater the force applied to the ladder rail 29, the greater the force applied to the locking engagement between the outer housing 41 and the leg extension 71.
A release lever 75 on the pawl 73 releases the pawl when activated by hand. A safety bar (shown in FIG. 2 without a reference numeral) extends from the center of the shaft of a bolt 33 that is bolted to a support foot 27 to the pawl 73, contacting the pawl close to its pivot hole 77, such that force applied to the support foot 27 presses the safety bar against the pawl 73 and locks the pawl in position.
The support foot 27 is secured to the leg extension 71 with the securing bolt 33 which acts as a hinge pin by passing through an oblong securing bolt aperture in the leg extension, and is held in place with a securing nut 35. The support foot 27 includes a rubber friction pad tread 31.
The leveler also includes a retraction spring 53 coupled at one end to the outer housing at a spring fastener 55 and at the other end to the leg extension 71. The retraction spring continually applies an upward biasing force on the leg extension. To facilitate the extension and retraction of the extension leg 71 into and out of the outer housing 41, a foot pedal 101 is secured to the front portion of the extension leg 71 with a foot pedal pivot pin 103. Pressing on the pedal opposes the force of the retraction spring 53.